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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26159635">A Witch's Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NautyNutBoy/pseuds/NautyNutBoy'>NautyNutBoy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Serin Fate(Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Multi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 13:07:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,770</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26159635</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NautyNutBoy/pseuds/NautyNutBoy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The very first fanfiction for the witchy RPG named Serin Fate! This is a story about a young, new witch named Dakota and their companion Seven. Together, the two learn a lot about witchery and love as they struggle with life, love, and a bit of evil necromancy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gowen/OC, Sennia/OC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Witchy Beginnings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Please note that this fanfiction was started at Alpha 0.3.1, so the story elements may be completely off from the canon of the game. Also, if you're reading this after the complete game came out...Hi, how are you? What's it like in the future?</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Witchery Day had turned out to be far more eventful than the little witch named Dakota had anticipated. With the sudden appearance of Zixis, and the broken Fate Stone, things had turned out way more hectic than one would hope. Luckily, Dakota's best friend, Seven, had been there with them to help ease the confusion and fear. The Princess asking for help was quite a shock to Dakota. She always seemed to have things together, but this event had clearly left the Serin shaken. Although, Dakota couldn't blame her, their whole world was suddenly turned upside down. No more witches? Witchery Day was such a big part of the Chimera Kingdom, having it taken away suddenly was quite jarring.</p><p>After a long and dull lesson from Ichorus, he went looking for housing for the two. He pulled out a picture of a treehouse, and Dakota could only assume it would be their new home.  "The owner of this home mysteriously disappeared. Hasn't been here for years. So it's yours now. You two will just have to share the home, as we weren't expected so many new witches," The old Serin grumbled, clearly not interested in either of the witches. He quickly teleported the two away so he would no longer have to stare at their faces.<br/>
The sudden teleportation left the two dazed, and it took a bit for them to come to. "Oh... More faces to lend my reflection to." A voice said, which caused Dakota to look around suspiciously. When Dakota realized where the voice was coming from, they let out a loud scream. "Yes... Yes, a talking MAGIC mirror!" The mirror said sarcastically. "The owner of this house...Where be she?" It asked. "Uhhh..." Dakota said, giving a glance at their friend, to which Seven just shrugged. "Gone? ...And YOU TWO let a necromancer destroy the fate stone?" It said accusingly. Dakota was about to protest, but the mirror was moving on already. "Some monsters got her then... Tragic," Dakota didn't sense any sadness in the mirror's voice, which made them think that it really didn't care at all. "Ok, movin' on!" It said, confirming Dakota's suspicion. </p><p>"If there's really no one else, this means you two are the new masters. Welcome home!" Again, Dakota couldn't find a trace of happiness in its voice. They weren't sure if they liked this mirror... "Let's see here...Well... There's good news and bad news. You know the question, what'll it be?" It asked, seemingly bored with talking already. "Uh, bad news, I suppose," Dakota answered unsurely.<br/>
"Bad news, ey? We may get along..."<br/>
Dakota wasn't sure if they wanted that, though. "Ok, the bad news is I'm stuck living with you two." It started, and again, before Dakota could reply, it moved on.<br/>
"Good news is you two are witches! ....And darkness is brewing and necromancers are more powerful than ever,"<br/>
"That doesn't sound like-" Seven started.<br/>
"You guys would probably run out of mana after one spell, the forest not far from here is filled with monsters, and I hope you cover me up and wander off into it."</p><p>There was a brief moment of silence as Dakota and Seven stared at each other, completely dumbfounded. What the hell was going on?<br/>
"Still here? And your names are Dakota and Seven? Pleasant. Hrrmmm, yes. To my surprise it appears you two DO have an inkling of magic in you..." The mirror started up again, leaving the two witches surprised and confused. After a small series of questions, Cain, as the mirror had called himself, had set them up with their runic attunement. Dakota turned out to be attuned to Storm, while Seven was attuned to Moon. Seven and Dakota explored their small humble abode together, and found some useful items lying about. When they decided to see what the outside looked liked, Coco popped in for a visit,</p><p>She set the two up with Chimera of their own. Dakota chose a Nautynut, and Seven chose a Starwii. The two were very pleased with their choices, and decided to go their separate ways to test their new witchy abilities.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. When I saw you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm not sure if this was clear, but Dakota is nonbinary, and presents more masculine. Not really that important to note, but I figured it was worth sharing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dakota had wandered into town, thinking of ways to catch more Nautynuts. They had fallen head over heels for the one Coco had given them, and they started forming a plan to mass breed them. They wanted to have hundreds of them running around Seven and Dakota's farm. Of course, Seven would be upset. At first. But Seven always knowingly followed Dakota into trouble. Dakota was convinced she just liked seeing them get into trouble. Maybe Seven was a bit mischievous herself. Who could really say? </p><p>Dakota was so lost in their thoughts, they hadn't noticed the Serin male in front of them. Dakota was about to get pissed for having their deep thoughts be interrupted, but when they laid eyes on the Serin, their heart skipped a beat. "Watch out. If you keep your heads in the clouds like that, you're going to get into serious trouble," The male grumbled, a little annoyed at the small witch. "U-Uhm, yeah, sorry. I-I'm Dakota, who are you?" They quickly blurted. They knew they would regret it if they didn't at least get his name. </p><p>"Gowen. Y'know, the captain of the royal guard. Starwen's brother. The Serin prince." He said sarcastically. Oh god, Dakota was already in love. He was rude. But Dakota found that those who put a cold front were often the biggest softies. So they swore to themselves that they would melt the ice wall that Gowen had put up. "Apologies, I didn't recognize you." Dakota had of course seen and heard of him many times. But princes weren't typically their thing, so they never paid much attention. Besides, Seven and them were too busy getting in trouble and learning about magic to care about the royal family. </p><p>"Right. Well, I have some important business to attend to." He said a tad awkwardly. Dakota supposed he could tell when someone was in love with him. Being a prince, it was probably very common for him to have young girls flocking at his feet, begging him to return their feelings. But if Dakota had anything to do with it, he would never return the feelings of those girls. Of course, they would feel bad for them. But Dakota was on a mission now. They were determined to somehow, one day make Gowen theirs. </p><p>As they watched Gowen quickly walk away, they began to wonder what sort of person Gowen would favor. At first glance, one could say he only favors himself. But Dakota knew that was far from true. The prince cared deeply about the Chimera Kingdom, which is why he worked tirelessly building up defenses and making sure every citizen would feel safe within the walls. If Dakota expressed the same deep love for the kingdom, would he like that? </p><p>Ah, but planning to romance the prince could wait. Nautynuts were the forefront of Dakota's agenda right now. They marched confidently towards the Autumn Forest, and soon ran into some monsters. But their faithful Nautynut easily laid waste to the angry bee monsters. The forest was surprisingly bare of Chimera, but Dakota supposed they shouldn't be surprised. Chimera tended to be elusive creatures. Traveling further into the forest proved to be more difficult. From stumps hurling magic at them, to birds pecking them nearly to death, the forest seemed to have danger lurking around every corner. </p><p>But that also proved to be a boon. As Dakota was running from a particularly nasty bird monster, they had accidentally found a button. Dakota wasn't sure what the button had done, but they did know whatever it was produced a loud clunk. Once all monsters in sight had finally died to the hands of their Nautynut, Dakota carefully looked around, and found a staircase that wasn't there before. Triumphantly, they marched up said stairs, and noticed an old farmer's hat laying on the ground. Why was there a hat here? Who left it here?</p><p>Dakota was suddenly reminded of the old farmer, Geez, who had begged them to find his hat. Ah. That's whose hat this must be. Dakota picked it up, and stashed it. They'd return the poor farmer's hat after a bit more exploring. As soon as Dakota had gone trhough the trees, they immediately regretted it. 3 different bird monsters came barreling towards them, and Dakota ran as fast as they could. Even her trusty Nautynut couldn't handle so many at once. Dakota had found a safe place to rest once they deemed the birds would no longer come looking for them. Okay, that's enough exploring for one day. Dakota couldn't handle any more near-death experiences before they actually died.</p><p>Dakota wearily made their way out of the forest, which wasn't that much more of a walk. They had nearly made it out before their legs decided they couldn't run anymore. "Oh, Geez," They called to the farmer, who was beginning to leave as the sun was setting. He turned to look at the young witch, and his old eye lit up a bit as Dakota pulled out his hat. "Oh, thank you so much! If you ever need any seeds, you can find me at my farm. Ol' Sohpie is probably missin' me by now." He said, looking off in what Dakota could only presume as the direction of his farm. "You're welcome. I'll be sure visit soon," Dakota waved the man off. Whew. Today was surely eventful.</p><p>As it became dark, Dakota made their way back to the farm. But they couldn't help but notice Gowen and a group of guards. Curiosity got the better of them, and they decided to easedrop. </p><p>"As I'm sure you all have heard, the Fate Stone has been broken. But it isn't your job or mine to worry about that. My sister is looking into it, so don't any of you get any ideas. Your one and only job is to make sure everyone here is safe. I want everyone picking up double shifts. I don't want a single area here to be unguarded. Monsters are going to be stronger, and they'll get cocky thinkin' they can break in here. But we can't let that happen. Understand, men?" He asked, looking around at the weary faced. From their dead looks, it looked as if most of them were already working overtime. They murmured agreements which clearly didn't sit well with Gowen. He gave a frustrated sigh, but let it go knowing these were trying times. </p><p>He broke the group up into three main groups, and told them where they needed to be posted. Every entrance, exit and wall would be covered with his plan. Man, he was so cool. Dakota couldn't help but quietly gush from their hiding spot. Gowen gave a glance in their direction, and their heart froze when their eyes locked for a split second. Gowen had 100% saw them, but he simply ignored the witch. Dakota wanted to be angry for being ignored so easily, but...They also didn't want to get in trouble for stalking. Which they totally weren't doing. They were just passing by, and Gowen happened to be there.</p><p>Once all the guards had split off, and Gowen returned to the castle, Dakota decided it was time to call it a night. They yawned loudly as they plopped on their bed, which the two had to buy as the house only came with one. "Rough day?" Seven asked. "Sorta. Went into the forest and got beat up on, but..." A stupid smile plastered across their face as they thought about the prince. "I met Gowen, and I truly believe he is the most wonderful person I've ever met." They sighed dreamily. Seven could only laugh. The two had known each other long enough that she knew the course of Dakota's crushes. "Just don't bother him as much as you did with Kevin. You do remember how that ended, right?" Seven warned, and Dakota winced. "Yeah, yeah," They grumbled, wanting to rid themselves of the horrible thought. Dakota tended to get... Attached to those they fell to. Sometimes it festered into something very... Unhealthy. Kevin was the worse case Dakota had seen. It got... bad. To put it simply, Dakota is banned from her childhood town.</p><p>But things would be different this time. Dakota could only hope that, anyway.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A brewing connection</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter starts at the beginning of the last chapter, just following what Seven did that day instead. So, while Dakota was running off oogling prince Gowen, this is what Seven was doing. Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seven watched as her... Energetic friend ran off to do whatever it is they do. Dakota was muttering something about Nautynuts, but Seven's mind was elsewhere. Chimera might have been Dakota's interest, but Seven was more interested in potions. When the two had made a pack to become witches, potion brewing was something that stuck with Seven. And now that she was a witch, she could finally try it out. </p><p>Seven had went into town, asking around about a shop that sells anything that could help her out with her new mission. It took awhile, but she heard of a shop that only opened at night that seemed to be the place she could score some potions. She was glad she got the information, but it was still very much day and it wouldn't be night for a while. Well, she supposed she could check the forest from some herbs. </p><p>Seven turned to make her way to the forest which her friend had gone to hours before, but she nearly ran into a Serin female. "Watch it," She snapped, holding an empty bottle in her hands. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get in your way," Seven quickly apologized, seeing as the female was already pissed at her. "Wait are you...Sennia?" Seven questioned, recognizing her dress. It wasn't exactly a common dress. "Yeah, I am. What's it to ya?" The female asked, seemingly wanting to get this conversation over with. "I just heard you ran a shop, that's all," Seven dismissed, not wanting to take up much of the Serin's time. "Oh, speaking of that..." She started. "If you happen to come across a Death Blossom, be sure to let me know." She changed her tune suddenly when talking about the poisonous flower. Seven wasn't honestly that surprised she was looking for it. Death Blossoms were a perfect herb to have for potion making. "I'll keep my eyes peeled for it." Seven promised. </p><p>And just like that, the Serin was gone. Well that was fun. As Seven traveled deep into the forest, she couldn't get her mind off the Serin. Odd. Unlike Dakota, Seven wasn't much for flimsy crushes. In fact, she had never really fancied anyone. Dakota complained that her life sounded lonely, but she honestly didn't mind. She had Dakota, and that was enough for her. But having someone to care for on a deeper level didn't sound horrible. But Seven was picky with her people. Honestly, Dakota's personality would normally be too much for her, but Dakota held a special place in her heart. They grew up in the same town, which was rather small so all the kids knew each other. But Seven and Dakota just had a strange connection. They just got along very well. </p><p>Though, Seven had to admit, she quite enjoyed watching Dakota. Their personality was just so... Loud. They often got themselves in trouble, which was usually even more entertaining. Seven also felt a strange duty to protect the Serin. She wasn't sure why, maybe because they had known each other for so long. Who could really tell. As Seven arrived in the forest, she noticed her friend in the distance, running around frantically. Ah, one of Dakota's famous getting into trouble moment. Looked like they could pull it off themselves. Seven jumped a bit when a set of stairs revealed themselves. Seemed Dakota found a secret button. She'd thank her later.</p><p>She went into the hidden area beyond the trees, and found several bird monsters waiting for her. She dodged and weaved, noticing the Death Blossom. Aha. She quickly grabbed as many as she could, and got out of dodge. Her chimera was strong, but she wasn't sure if it could take on so many enemies. Dakota was still busy fighting off monsters by the time Seven escaped, so she decided to leave the forest. She made her way back into town, looking around for the rude Serin female. She finally found her in front of the Witch's Guild. "Hey, Sennia!" She waved her hand, catching the Serin's attention. The Serin looked incredibly annoyed until she noticed the Death Blossoms in Seven's arms. </p><p>"You really didn't need to get so many. One would've been fine," She said, slightly appalled the Val went through all that trouble. The Serin did no protesting when Seven handed the flowers over, though. Seven felt proud of herself, and was happy with how pleased the female seemed. "This means a lot. Here, take my totem and contact me if you find any more herbs." She said, handing Seven a strange device. She had heard of totems before, but hadn't actually seen them. This wasn't something given away lightly, which only made Seven more proud of herself. "Will do, for sure." She had a little too much enthusiasm in her voice that she would've liked, but oh well. </p><p>After a long day, Seven finally headed home. She had just gotten settled in her bed when Dakota had come home. They seemed completely exhausted. Looks like they had more of a rough time with the monsters in that forest than Seven has suspected. They were alive, though, and didn't look too badly beat up, so that was a plus.</p><p>"Rough day?" Seven asked. "Sorta. Went into the forest and got beat up on, but..." A stupid smile plastered across Dakota's face as they thought about something. "I met Gowen, and I truly believe he is the most wonderful person I've ever met." They sighed dreamily. Seven could only laugh. The two had known each other long enough that she knew the course of Dakota's crushes. "Just don't bother him as much as you did with Kevin. You do remember how that ended, right?" Seven warned, and Dakota winced. "Yeah, yeah," They grumbled, wanting to rid themselves, clearly not over that incident yet. Dakota was a good person for the most part. They just had a bad habit of getting attached to people way too easily, and it ends up clouding their judgement. That's what had happened with Kevin. They had gotten themselves so obsessed, despite the warnings and efforts of Seven, that they had gotten themselves into real trouble. It was so bad that they had gotten banned from their childhood home.</p><p>Seven could only hope the Serin would be more careful this time around. She hoped they had learned their lesson.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Getting to know you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dakota soon fell into their old habits. It had only been a week since they had met the prince in person, but they couldn't help but wonder what he was doing at every moment of the day. They did their best NOT to stalk the prince, but soon they found themselves waking up early to watch the prince train new recruits. He was harsh to them, but saw they improved rather quickly. Mornings were usually peaceful for Dakota. They found a bench to sit on that gave them the perfect view of Gowen, and they would watch until training was over. It usually lasted about 4 hours. Then Dakota would explore the forest for an hour or two, and quickly run back to Midtown to see Gowen. Dakota soon liked this routine. They enjoyed watching the prince from afar. But it wasn't enough. Dakota knew that if they went any farther, trouble would follow.</p><p>So for weeks Dakota would quietly watch the prince in the mornings, and nothing more. And soon they realized the feelings weren't going away. Maybe it was because they were denying themselves from completely stalking the prince. Maybe. But that wasn't it. This was different. This feeling was...stronger. They wanted to be a part of Gowen's life. To know what he likes, what he hates, what his favorite food is. And they wanted to find it out from him. This was odd. They weren't sure what exactly to do with these feelings. It was honestly overwhelming and absolutely terrifying. Gowen was a prince for god's sake! He had hundreds of people drooling over him. What would make Dakota special?</p><p>"Hey,"</p><p>A voice suddenly brought Dakota out of their thoughts. They jumped slightly, glancing at Gowen and the new recruits still training away. They looked back at the female Serin who had snapped Dakota out of their thoughts. Wait a mintue...This was...</p><p>"I know you've been watching my brother for quite some time," Starwen said, making Dakota nervous. "I-I'm sorry, I know it's weird, and I know I shouldn't but I just like watching him-" Dakota began blurting out excuses. Starwen just laughed. "Trust me, we're royalty. I know a crazy when I see one." She waved off the witch. Dakota felt a little relieved that she had said that. They weren't in trouble. Yet, anyway. "So, why...Why did you come to talk with me?" Dakota questioned quietly. "Well, you feel... Different from my brother's usual admirers." She put a finger on her chin, thinking about it hard. "I'm not sure what it is." Starwen looked Dakota up and down, as if something on their body would give away why Dakota felt different to her. She eventually shrugged it off.</p><p>"I think you should talk to him," She said with a small grin. Dakota blinked. "No. No way. He's busy for one, and for two, why would he want to talk to <em>me</em>?" Dakota waved their arms about to really hit home about their point. "I mean, sure, I would <em>like </em>to talk to him, but there's no way he would give me the time of day," Dakota went on and on, and Starwen simply chuckled again. "Ah. That's why you're different. You sorta act like him," She smiled.</p><p>"Hah, yeah right."</p><p>"It's true. You may think he's Mr. Cool, calm and collected, but trust me, when something goes wrong, he gets flustered easily." Starwen smiled as if she were remembering something from when they were kids. "And besides, my brother needs a friend. He's thrown himself deep into work these past few years, and with the fate stone being broken... I fear he's going to get to a point where he'll never be able to emotionally open himself," Starwen gazed sadly at her brother. It was clear she had a lot of love for him. Dakota licked their lips, and took a deep breath in. They sighed out slowly. "Okay. But only because you seem genuinely worried about him," Dakota stood, giving a gulp.</p><p>They slowly walked over to the prince, who was just finishing up training. "Uhm, hello!" Dakota said stiffly. They were so nervous. They glanced at Starwen, who gave them an encouraging thumbs-up. They smiled a bit, and focused their attention back on the prince. "Oh, hello. What do you need?" he asked sort of coldly. He was tired from training, and he didn't feel like socializing. "Uh, uhm. I've noticed you training out here a couple of times, and uhm.." They stumbled over their words and they wanted to run.</p><p>Gowen was about to turn and leave until he noticed his sister. She was sitting on the bench across from where he trained the newbies. He then noticed Dakota glancing at her, and Starwen giving them encouragement from afar. Ah. So this is what this was about. Starwen had been going on and on about making "real connections" with "real people". He usually tuned her out, as she would go on for hours if he allowed it. Gowen was perfectly fine being alone. He had a kingdom to protect. Their parents had entrusted him with the guards, and he wasn't about to let them down. "Look, I know what this is about." He started. "Y-You do?" the nervous witch asked, seeming a little worried. "Yes. Tell my sister I DON'T need someone to 'emotionally' open up to," He grumbled, air quoting.</p><p>"W-Wait!" Dakota blurted out before the prince could leave. "I admit your sister was the one who convinced me to come over, but... That's not why I wanted to talk to you," They said earnestly. Gowen seemed to recognize they were telling the truth because he decided not to leave. Dakota was thankful he decided to stay and hear the Serin out. "I wanted to talk to you because I..." They realized how bad of an idea confessing would be at this moment. "Am... Interested... In sword skills!" They said suddenly. Gowen raised and eyebrow. "Why would a witch want to know how to use a sword?" He asked skeptically. "Uhm, because it never hurts to branch out?" They questioned, getting caught in their own lie.</p><p>"Okay. I suppose I could teach you some basics, if that's what you really want," He shrugged dismissively. Dakota felt relieved that their lie had stuck. Truly, they didn't care about learning how to wield a sword. But if it allowed them to spend some time with the prince, they would learn. </p><p>Gowen grabbed two wooden practice swords, throwing one over to the witch. Dakota tried and failed to catch the sword, and had to shamefully pick it off of the ground. "Swordplay is very important to those who weren't blessed with magic. With witches, you can send a chimera to kill monsters for you. But for us non-magic users? We have to use a sword. Or any sharp, pointy object." He tilted his head side to side a bit at his last sentence. "However, it is important to learn the movements associated with swordplay. It may seem silly to know how to dance around an opponent or how to stand correctly, but those skills could very well save your life in a real battle," He took up a defensive stance, and Dakota watched closely. </p><p>"We will start with blocking, first. This is arguably the most important skill to know. Really watch your opponent, and try to predict where they're going to strike. Since you're a newbie, I'm going to tell you where. First, I'll strike low to your left, high to your right, then low to your right. Try to block each attack," He told the Serin, and Dakota nodded, watching him intently. He moved in, swinging exactly where he said. Dakota tried and failed to block the first time, but was successful the second time. The third was easy after Dakota got the feel of what to do.</p><p>"Impressive." He commented, and Dakota fought the urge to squeal. For the next hour, Gowen really hammered in knowing how to block. For the first half, he told where he was going to strike, so Dakota could get used to the idea of blocking. But eventually, he didn't say and just went in to attack. Dakota was thrown off guard the first time he struck without warning but soon was able to get the rhythm of things. Dakota was able to block almost every attack Gowen threw their way. And Gowen praised them along the way, which made Dakota extremely happy. </p><p>After the two had both worked up a sweat, Gowen decided that was enough for private lessons for today. "Thank you for this." Dakota smiled sweetly at the male, which seemed to make the Serin miss a beat. "Uhm, yeah. No problem." He stumbled over his words a bit. "If you wish, I can teach you more after training with my recruits tomorrow," He offered. "Oh, yes, please! This was very fun," Dakota exclaimed happily. "Well, see you tomorrow then," Gowen waved off the witch, and Dakota ran home happily.</p><p>Dakota burst into the treehouse, flopping on their bed and squealing loudly. "Whoa. Guess you had a good day?" Seven said, an eyebrow rising at the sight of her best friend. "Yeah! I got to learn how to swordplay with Gowen!" They exclaimed, rolling around in their bed. Seven laughed at her goofy friend, shaking her head. "Sounds like a good time. But remember to tread carefully," Seven warned again. "I know, I know," Dakota sat up, sighing heavily. "I think things will be different this time. I feel differently about him," They said, staring up at the ceiling. </p><p>Seven was worried for her friend, but trusted they knew their feelings better than she did. She just hoped they control them this time.</p>
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